Latest content: Economic development

Commonwealth countries must rethink their approach to delivering public services if sustainable development is to be achieved, according to the Commonwealth Secretary-General.

South Africa and the United Kingdom will jointly lead a Commonwealth initiative to boost digital connectivity amongst member countries, it was announced today at Africa Tech Week.

Secretary-General Patricia Scotland has reaffirmed the Commonwealth’s collective commitment to an inclusive, fair and open rules-based multilateral trading system which drives growth, productivity, innovation and employability.

Inadequate access to financing, markets and technology are among the hurdles that prevent women from breaking into global trade, which the Commonwealth Connectivity Agenda expects to tackle.

The Commonwealth and the Government of Malaysia will host a conference to boost women’s participation in digital technology and global trade

Trade officials and experts gathered at the Commonwealth’s headquarters to debate the future of intra-Commonwealth trade in view of emerging trends such as increased digitalisation of services and regulatory barriers.

New research argues that the world’s poorest countries need to change their approach to entrepreneurship, if they want businesses to boost sustainable development. 

The small states of the Commonwealth could be losing out on $4.5 billion of overseas development assistance, a preliminary Commonwealth Secretariat study has shown.

Trade officials and experts from Commonwealth African countries gathered in the Seychelles this week to discuss regional and global trade issues affecting their growth and development.

Small businesses in the Pacific will benefit from a better commercial environment, more links to global trade, as well as enhanced skills to leverage opportunities under the Commonwealth Connectivity Agenda for Trade and Investment.

Three years after adopting the 2030 development Agenda, countries are grappling with how to achieve its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland is travelling to Brussels and Geneva to participate in high-level meetings on trade, youth and women’s economic empowerment.

The Government of Seychelles in collaboration with the Commonwealth has launched the ‘Blue Economy Strategic Framework and Roadmap’ to build its ocean-based economy.

Commonwealth finance ministers concluded their annual meeting today in Bali, Indonesia, by endorsing key strategies aimed at helping countries reduce disaster risk.

Central bank governors from Commonwealth countries backed a proposal to create a toolkit that will help banks leverage technological innovations in the finance sector to maximise economic growth.

Finance ministers from the 53 member countries of the Commonwealth will meet in the margins of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank annual meetings this week in Bali, Indonesia, to discuss financing solutions to help counter the risk of natural disasters in their countries.

The ‘Ask The Expert’ series features leading specialists who work at the Commonwealth Secretariat in specialised areas. In this fourth edition, Travis Mitchell, Head of Economic Policy and Small States, talks about the priority areas that will be discussed at this year’s Commonwealth Finance Ministers Meeting.

While the digital revolution has brought about unprecedented opportunities for global trade, developing countries and small states in the Commonwealth still face some key challenges linked to e-commerce.

Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland today announced that the Commonwealth Secretariat is to sign a new agreement with the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC),

New research from the Commonwealth Secretariat highlights the potential role that diaspora communities in the United Kingdom can play in promoting the development of their countries of origin.

Pacific leaders have urged the Commonwealth Secretariat to ‘reshape and extend’ the Hub and Spokes programme beyond its proposed closure in November 2018.

At the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) 2018, leaders committed themselves to the vision of increasing intra-Commonwealth trade to US$2 Trillion by 2030.

Secretary General Patricia Scotland has shared her vision to ensure that the Commonwealth remains relevant and vigorous during 'troubled and troubling times'.

The Least Developed Countries (LDCs) are an internationally defined group of highly vulnerable and structurally constrained economies with extreme levels of poverty.